According to the investigation, a 48-year-old Balakliya citizen entered into a criminal conspiracy with the russian occupation forces and declared himself ‘chief’ of the illegal law enforcement unit established by the enemy - the so-called ‘people’s militia of Balakliya’.

From April to September, the collaborator performed the entire complex of illegal duties for the occupiers: hired other ‘employees’, ran the ‘illegal unit’, organized joint shifts with servicemen of the occupying forces to guard critical infrastructure facilities.

The investigation established that in September the traitor fled to Kupyansk, occupied at the time, where was later detained by Ukrainian law enforcement after the de-occupation of the city.

It seems that the occupiers did not fully trust the defector from Balakliya: the ‘ID’ issued to him was valid only until the end of 2022.

SSU investigators qualified the actions of the ‘police chief’ under Article 111-1.7 of the CCU (voluntary occupation by a citizen of Ukraine of a position in illegal law enforcement bodies established in a temporarily occupied territory). The collaborator has been notified of suspicion and is facing from 12 to 15 years of in prison.

The SSU Office in Kharkiv region has documented the unlawful activity under the procedural supervision of Kharkiv Region Prosecutor’s Office.